Rolling mill having pivotal roll frames



Aug, 4, 1964 M. P. SIEGER ROLLING MILL HAVING PIVOTAL ROLL FRAMES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1961 k! INVENTOR.

CE P.'SIEGER MAURI HI ATTORNEY Aug. 4, 1964 M. P. SIEGYER ROLLING MILL HAVING PIVOTAL ROLL FRAMES Filed March 24, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 7

INVENTOR. MAURICE P. SIEGER G 77441:; ATTORNEY United States Patent ROLLING MHJL HAVING PIVOTAL ROLL FRAMES Maurice Paul Sieger, Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pa, assignor to United Engineering and Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 24, 19:51, Ser. No. 98,112 5 Ciaims. (Cl. 80-55) This invention relates to a rolling mill and in its preferred form to an edger mill for use in rolling the vertical sides of hot metallic workpieces.

Prior Art Mills Present day designs of vertical edger mills utilize large horizontally arranged guiding-frame structures on which are supported the cooperative roll assemblies, including their large housings and gears and over which the assemblies slide for roll pass adjustment. The frame structure is usually rigidly supported by stationary housings arranged on each side of the path of the workpieces, and us ually consists of two pairs of parallel guiding rest bars, one pair erected to extend above and the other pair below the path of the workpieces. This frame structure, of course, obstructs the operators view of the next adjacent mill, particularly if the edger mill is used in a universal mill arrangement, that is, where the edger mill is employed as a cooperating unit with a second mill having horizontal rolls.

In view of the fact that the metal being rolled is hot and hence extensively covered with oxide, in the rolling process large amounts of oxide and other foreign material are thrown into the surrounding atmosphere. This material continuously settles on the sliding surfaces of the rest bars, which is particularly true in a universal slabbing mill operation, even though in the design of this mill in order to proivde the proper clearance between the maximum size workpiece and the upper pair of rest bars the latter are spaced at considerable distance from the pass line. The continuous collection of the hot oxide and other foreign material by the rest bars results in damage to the sliding surfaces thereof and consequently there is experienced high maintenance expenses. Also, since it is impractical, if not impossible, to shield the sliding surfaces of the rest bars there is experienced extreme difliculty in keeping the surfaces properly lubricated. The failure to adequately lubricate the guiding surfaces of the rest bars results in large frictional forces being present which substantially increases the power required to adjust the rolls and seriously affects the speed at which the rolls can be adjusted.

In the design of present-day edger mills, the upper pair of rest bars complete a total enclosure of the upper portion of the roll assemblies and hence the bars must be spaced a considerable distance away from the mills passline in order to permit the maximum height workpiece to pass thereunder. The fact that the rolls are so enclosed by the rest bars creates a very awkward and diflicult condition in the removal and replacement of the rolls. Moreover, in order to effect a removal and a replacement of the rolls, they are usually raised a distance suflicient to clear the upper pair of rest bars. In all, it will be apparent that the method required to change the rolls of present-day edger mills is cumbersome, expensive and very time consuming. This condition is aggravated still further in view of the fact that the rolls must be removed individually from the edger mill.

Furthermore, and of equal importance, is the fact that it is necessary to raise the rolls a distance suflicient to clear the upper pair of rest bars and therefore, the height of the mill building must be such as to provide space for this operation. It goes without saying that such a condimam Patented Aug. 4, 1964 tion has a serious effect on the economy of the entire rolling mill operation.

Another serious limitation of the present day edger mills has. to do with their driving arrangements. The rolls of the edger mill are usuallydriven in one of two manners. -In one case, a horizontal splined shaft is employed which is rotatably mounted in a stationary housing, having its splined portion received in a sleeve which is secured to the movable end of theroll housings when the latter are adjusted. Gear's for driving the rolls are carried by and. movablewith the sleeve. In this case, in addition to the lubrication and maintenance problems created when the hot flyingfloxide collecting on the splined shaft, the sleeve is frequently forced out of its proper vertical and horizontal alignment with respect to the shaft, in view of the fact that when the vertical and horizontal guiding surfaces of the rest bars and cooperating sliding surfaces of the roll housings wear, the roll housings inadvertently are thereby lowered and/ or moved horizontally an amount equal to the wear. Moreover, this will cause the splined shaft to deflect, thereby resulting in excessive wear, which, in time, aggravates the maintenance problems. In view of the fact that it frequently happens that the extent of the wear on the two sides of the mill will be dilferent, the splined shaft will be caused to deflect in opposite direction, thereby giving rise to additional maintenance problems.

.The secondmethod of driving the rolls of the present day edger mills consists of employing very long universal spindles for each roll which extend between the rolls and gearing; in this case, the gearing does not move with the rolls so that there is no need to employ a splined shaft. However, in this arrangement the intense heat and flying oxide is extremely detrimental to obtaining proper lubrication of the universal spindles so that these units frequently fail because of undue wear of their parts.

Moreover, since, in this design, the universal joints permit only a limited angular displacement of the spindles and the range of the pass adjustment of the rolls in the case of a wide mill, such as a plate mill, may be of an order of eight feet or more for each roll, the spindles musteither be made extremely long or the. torque transmitted. to the rolls must be limited considerably. With respect to the former the driving angle of the universal joints must be kept small in order .to transmit the full torque requirements when the spindles are positioned in their maximum angular positions. Should the length of the spindles be reduced, then the full torque capacity can not be transmitted when the spindles are positoned at their maximumangular positions. This is so since in such positions the angle of operation would cause forces to be imposed on the universal joint far in excess of their strength and wear resistance characteristics. It is also to be pointed out that to increase the length of the spindles to attain the optimum torque driving requirements will increase the height of the mill building which, as previously mentioned, is seriously objectionable.

The Present I nvention.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an edger mill which, along with possessing other features, will overcome each and everyone of the aforesaid limitations of existing'edger mills and yet will be more economical to construct and operate.

More specifically, the present invention has for one of its primary objects providing an edger mill wherein the cooperating pair of rolls are mounted to pivot toward and away from each other and hence the customary use of the frame structures of the present day edger mills will be entirely eliminated, as well as the need of employing splined shafts and long universal spindles.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an 3 edger mill wherein the cooperating pair of rolls will be mounted to be freely pivoted, hence requiring considerable less roll-adjusting power capacity than required in present day edger mills.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an edger mill wherein the changing of the rolls will be greatly simplified and require much less time than required in present day edger mills.

It is another object of this invention to provide an edger mill that may be employed in combination with an adjacent mill wherein the rolls of the edger mill may be arranged in close proximity to the rolls of the adjacent mill, thereby to push the workpiece into the adjacent mill and thereby effect a greater reduction of the material by that mill.

These objects, as well as the other novel features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated when the following description is read in light of the drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of a universal slabbing mill from the edger mill side thereof illustrating an edger mill incorporating the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view of the universal slabbing mill shown in FIG. 1 taken on lines IIII thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view of the universal slabbing mill shown in FIG. 1 taken on lines III-III thereof;

FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the left hand side of the mill illustrated in FIG. 1, certain elements in the back being omitted for clarity sake;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, partly in section, of a screw shifting mechanism that may be employed in the mill shown in the aforesaid drawings;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of the screw shifting mechanisms shown, in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of the screw shifting mechanisms shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view, partly in section, of a modified form of a screw shifting mechanism, and

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of the screw shifting mechanism shown in FIG. 8.

The Slabbing Mill With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, there is illustrated therein a slabbing mill 11 of a universal mill arrangement, comprising a pair of upright spaced apart housings 12 and 13 secured to bedplates 14, each housing having similarly constructed windows 15 in which are received the chocks and bearing assemblies of a pair of horizontally arranged rolls 16 and 17. It is believed unnecessary to describe the other operative elements of the slabbing mill in order to understand the present invention. The hot workpiece to be rolled is transferred to the entry side of the slabbing mill 11 over a mill entry table, not shown, where it will be assisted into the mill by an entry feed roller 18. As the workpiece passes through the slabbing mill, it will engage a delivery feed roller 19 arranged at the delivery side of the mill and rotatably supported by and extendable between the housing thereof, as is also the feed roller 18. A horizontal apron 20a is arranged to extend transversely between the edger mill rolls and longitudinally between the feed roller 19 and roller 20 of a mill delivery table 21 to assist the workpieces when passing through the edger mill.

The Edger Mill As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each slabbing mill housing 12 and 13 is provided with two similarly constructed pairs of projections 22 which extend inward toward the center of the mill and which serve as the stationary elements of hinges 23, for which reason they have adjacent bossed surfaces and coincident vertical bores. As shown in FIG. 2, one pair of the stationary hinge elements is arranged at the upper portion of the housings and the other at the lower portion thereof and the projections of each pair are spaced apart so as to leave the necessary space for the pivotal members of the hinges. The pivotal members 24 of the hinges 23, as shown in FIG. 2, comprise an integral part of vertically extending frames 25 and 26 of an edger mill 27. The two frames 25 and 26 of the edger mill are in the form of hollow cylindrical castings, having their inner vertical portions open except for the extreme upper portions thereof. Edger mill rolls 28 and 29, including their chocks and bearings, are received in the open portions of the frames 25 and 26, the weight of each roll unit being carried by the frames by a construction not shown. Bearing caps 30 are provided for the bearings of the rolls which, as shown in FIG. 1, encircle the otherwise open portions of the bearing-chock assemblies and by which means the rolls are prevented from falling out of the frames.

Each roll 28 and 29 is driven from its upper end by a set of bevel gears 31 and 32, the gears of the former shown in FIG. 2 and the latter being shown in FIG. 1. The gears 32 are arranged to rotate about vertical axes and are connected by shafts 33 to spur gears 34 also arranged to rotate about the same vertical axis. Directly above the rolls and in meshing relationship with the spur gears 34, there are arranged other spur gears 35 which are connected to their respective rolls by spindles 36. The illustrated mill, the ends of the rolls 28 and 29 are provided with spherical splined driving connections, which serve to transmit the torque to the rolls while permit-ting a slight angular displacement of the spindles. With respect to the spur gears 35, the lower ends are provided with splined openings for receiving the upper splined portions of the spindles 36. These driving connections are also constructed to permit a slight angular displacement of spindles. In reference particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be observed that the pairs of spur gears 34 and 35 are mounted in the edger mill frames 25 and 26, in which construction, as the frames are pivoted about the hinges 23, the spur gears 35 will pivot about their respective meshing spur gears 34 and still retain their driving relationships.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bevel gears 31 are connected to a shaft 37 which is rotatably supported at its opposite ends and middle in a frame 38. This frame, having downwardly extending legs 39, is mounted on and extends between the slabbing mill housings 12 and 13, the housings being provided with supporting surfaces 40.

The driving power for the bevel gear shaft 37 is furnished from an electrical motor, not shown, although its driven shaft 41 is shown in FIG. 1. A set of spur gears 42 are employed for connecting the drive shaft 41 to the bevel gear shaft 37, one of the spur gears being only shown in FIG. 1, although, if desired, the shaft 37 can be driven direct without employing the spur gears 42.

Traverse Mechanism for the Edger Mill Each of the edger mill frames 25 and 26 are provided with mechanisms for effecting a pass adjustment by causing the frames to pivot about their hinges 23 in unison toward and away from each other. This mechanism is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 wherein there is illustrated on each side of the edger mill 27 stationary housings 43 and 44 mounted on and secured to the bedplates 14 of the slabbing mill 11, which plates have been extended in a direction axially of the slabbing mill rolls 16 and 17 to enable this construction to be obtained. Centrally located in the housings 43 and 44 and shown only with respect to t the housing 44 are elongated openings 45 which are made of sufiicient length, for a reason to be later explained, and into which are received horizontally extending rams 46. In the construction shown, the precise horizontal locations of the openings 45 was selected so that the center lines of the rams 46 would bear a substantial coincident relationship with the axes of the rolls throughout the working area of the angle of pivot of the rolls. In other words, the center lines of the rams will form chords on the arcs of pivots of the rolls, which chords will be close to the tangent of the arcs. Hence,

it will be appreciated that the off-center condition caused by the extreme relative change in position of the rams and rolls on the angular displacement of the latter will not take place during the rolling operation.

Even though the offset condition of the rams and the axes of the rolls will be slight during almost the entire working range of the rolls, in order to mitigate the effects of the eccentric load conditions caused by the angular displacement of the rolls relative to the rams, and to allow the rolls to be pivoted through the entire angle of pivot, slidable crossheads 47 are secured to the outer ends of the rams 46. To provide for the sliding construction, a guided way is machined in the top surfaces of each of the rams in which are received downwardly extending projections of the crossheads, this construction being best shown in FIG. 1. As best shown in FIG. 3 and as previously mentioned, the edger mill frames 25 and 26 are cylindrically shaped, in which connection the crossheads 47 are provided with complementary recesses on their outer ends and into which recesses the edger mill frames 25 and 26 are received. By this construction, on the angular movement of the edger mill frames about their respective hinges 23, the frames will simply impose an angular pressure on the crossheads and thus cause the latter to move with the frames and slide along the upper surface of the rams 46. As shown in FIG. 2 the rams are made considerably wide, their widths being commensurate with the amount of angular displacement of the edger mill frames 25 and 26, thereby allowing unrestricted movement of the latter. Since there will be a force couple placed on the rams 46 when there is a non-coincidental relation between the axes of the rolls 28 and 29 and the rams, the length of the constraining surfaces of housings 43 and 44 against the rams, as formed by the openings 45, are made sufficiently adequate to handle the moments of such forces.

Directly behind the rams 46 threadably received in nuts 48 arranged in the outer ends of the housings 43 and 44 are adjusting screws 49 and 50. These screws are rotated by a motor 51, the power of which is transmitted to the screws by individual motor pinions 51, idler gear 51b and drive gears 52, the latter being connected to splined outer end portions of the screws. A connecting shaft 53 runs btween the two housings 43 and 44 and drives the screws 49 and 50 in unison, which, in turn, move the edger mill frames 25 and 26 in unison, one of the screws in this arrangement having opposite hand threads. Pull-back piston cylinder assemblies 54 are mounted on each housing 43 and 44, having their rods connected to the edger mill frames 25 and 26, which assemblies serve to maintain the crossheads 47 in contact with the edger mill frames.

In order to adequately take care of the rolling loads of the edger mill 27 a pair of diametrically spaced apart threaded tension rods 55 and 56 are rigidly secured by nuts 57 to the housings 43 and 44. This construction is best shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. In order to keep the top of the edger mill 27 open so that the rolls thereof may be quickly removed, the upper tension rod 55 is arranged to pass to the inside of the edger mill frames 25 and 26 leaving the area above the rolls entirely open. The lower tension rod 56 is diametrically spaced from the upper one in a manner that a line drawn through the axes of the two tension rods will approximately pass through the axes of the screws 49 and 50, thereby balancing or centralizing the distribution of the rolling loads that are transmitted to the stationary housings 43 and 44.

Screw Shifting ZJechanism While the employment of sliding crosshead and ram assemblies do provide in an adequate manner for the normal oflf-set loads experienced when the axes of the rams and the rolls are not in a coincident relationship, should the off-set condition be too great for a given rolling condition, means can be provided for moving the screws horizontally in unison with the angular displacement of the rolls so that the screws will be always located directly behind the rolls and hence be in direct line to resist the rolling load. One form of such a means is shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 wherein there is illustrated an edger mill adjusting screw 58 received by a threaded nut 59 which, in turn, is received in a reciprocating block 60. The block 60 is arranged in an opening provided in a stationary housing 61 which is equivalent to the housings 43 and 44 shown in the'earlier drawings. It Wll be noted that the block 60 carries, in addition to the screw, the gears for driving the screw. Bearing liners 62 are provided between the frame and block to facilitate easy movement of the latter. The power for driving the screw is supplied by a motor 63 having a universal drive shaft 64, through a motor pinion 65 and a gear 66, which is carried by a splined portion of the screw shaft. The motor pinion 65 also serves to drive a miter gear set 67, one of which gears are connected to a vertically extending telescoping type universal spindle 68, which drives a similar miter gear set 69. As shown in FIG. 5, one of the miter gears of the set 69 is connected to the first of two worm-wheel units 70 and 71, the latter serving to drive the crank shaft 72 to which is connected an arm 73, the arm being secured to the block 60. In this arrangement, the amount of the eccentricity of the crank will equal the distance representing the total angular displacement of the edger mill rolls and in view of the fact that the displacement of the crank is synchronized with rotation of the screw, the block 60 and hence the screw will be caused to move horizontally in unison with the angular movement of the rolls.

Modified Form of Screw Shifting Mechanism In FIGS. 8 and 9a modified form of the screw shifting mechanism is illustrated. In this arrangement, a housing 74, similar to the housings 43 and 44 or 61 shown in earlier drawings, is provided with an opening 75 into which is received a sliding block 76. As in the mechanism shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 the edger mill adjusting screw 77 is carried by the block 76, the block also serving to carry the gearing for driving the screw. The screw in this case is driven by a gear 78 which meshes with a motor pinion 79, the motor for which is not shown. It is necessary to observe that a universal spindle is employed, although not shown, to connect the motor to the motor pinion 79 so that while the gears 78 and 79 will move with the block, their driving relationship will not be disturbed. The gear 78 in addition to driving the screw 77 serves to drive a gear 80, the gear 80 being carried on one end of a shaft 81 to which there is drivenly secured on its other end a cam 82.

The shaft 81 is supported by brackets 83 which are secured to the block 76. In engagement with the cam 82 is a follower 84 which is secured by brackets 85 to the housing 74. As shown in the aforesaid drawings, a piston cylinder assembly 86 is carried by the housing 74 and arranged so that its piston rod will engage the one side of the block 76. This piston cylinder assembly is designed to furnish a constant pressure tending to move the block toward the follower 84. In this manner, on the rotation of the cam 82, the block will be caused to be moved either to the left or right. As in the case of the employment of a crank, the eccentricity of the cam is designed to be commensurate with the amount of angular displacement of the edger mill roll. Since the rotation of the cam is synchronized with the rotation of the screw, the latter will be moved horizontally an amount equal to the angular displacement of the roll whereby the screw 77 will be automatically positioned in direct line with the axis of the edger mill roll.

While the present invention has been described as relating to a mill having vertically disposed rolls and in connection with a universal slabbing mill arrangement, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the features thereof may be employed as well in a millemploying horizontally disposed rolls and as an edger mill in connection with other universal mill arrangements or as an independent edger mill.

In summarizing the features of the present invention, it will be noted in connection with the universal slabbing mill shown and described that in the discovery of a design that eliminates the need of the horizontal frame structure as presently employed in existing mills, there has been provided an edger mill that will be entirely free of each of the previously mentioned limitations and deficiencies incident to employment of horizontal frame structures. In addition, the problems with respect to the driven arrangement of present day edger mills has been entirely eliminated. A considerably lighter edger mill has been developed, one in which the rolls thereof can be quickly adjusted, and having considerably less power requirements for accomplishing such adjustment. The present invention affords the operator a clear view of the slabbing mill rolls, and of even greater significance, is the fact that there is no need to lift the rolls over the entire edger mill or in some designs over the top rest bars to remove them from the mill, which operation made it necessary to substantially increase the ceiling height of the mill building. The rolls of the edger mill in the specific embodiment of the mill illustrated can be quickly removed by simply disconnecting, raising them slightly to clear the table roller and removing them horizontally from the edger mill. In addition the pivotal frames of the edger mill, being carried by the slabbing mill housings, allow the edger mill rolls to be maintained very close to the horizontal rolls of the slabbing mill, thereby permitting greater reduction to be attained in the slabbing mill as previously explained, and assuring uninterrupted conveyance of the workpieces between the respective mills over a wider range of workpiece lengths.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described What I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A rolling mill comprising,

a pair of cooperating rolls for engaging the two opposite sides of and reducing a workpiece passed therebetween;

separate housings for rotatably supporting each roll;

carrier means for supporting said housings;

pivotal means for connecting at least one of said housings to said carrier means;

means for driving said rolls; and

means for moving said pivotally connected housing about said pivotal means toward and away from the other housing;

said last-mentioned means comprising a frame for said pivotally connected housing having a longitudinal opening;

a reciprocable ram received in said opening extending substantially in a direction at right angles to said pivotally connected housing;

a crosshead having a circular recess at one side thereof and mounted on the one end of said ram and movable substantially at right angles relative to said ram;

said pivotally connected housing having a complementary circular projection which is received in said recess of the crosshead so that on the angular movement of said pivotally connected housing about its pivotal means said crosshead will be caused to move 'relative to said ram;

the mounting portion of said ram being constructed so that a portion of said crosshead is always maintained normal to the axis of the roll of said pivotally connected housing; and

an adjusting screw mounted in said frame and connected to the other end of said ram for reciprocating said ram thereby to pivotally move said pivotally connected housing.

2. A rolling mill according to claim 1,

in which said housings are provided with longitudinally extending openings through which the rolls may be passed into and out of said housings to facilitate the mounting and removal of said rolls;

a frame for said other housing;

a pair of tension members interconnecting said frames and extending transversely across said housings in non-obstructing relation to the openings provided in said housings.

3. A rolling mill comprising,

a pair of cooperating rolls for engaging the two op posite sides of and reducing a workpiece passed therebetween;

separate housings for rotatably supporting each roll;

carrier means for supporting said housings,

pivotal means for connecting at least one of said housings to said carrier means;

means for driving said rolls; and

means for moving said pivotally connected housing about said pivotal means toward and away from the other housing;

said last-mentioned means comprising a frame for said pivotally connected housing;

a block slidably engaged with and carried by said frame;

a screw threadably engaged with and passing through said block and engageable with said pivotally connected housing;

means for rotating said screw to impart pivotal movement to said pivotally connected housing;

a crank having an eccentricity substantially equal to the angular displacement of said roll of said housing connected to said block for moving said block in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of said screw; and

means for synchronizing the speeds of said crank with the speed of said screw whereby the axis of the screw will be maintained at a predetermined position relative to said pivotally connected housing.

4. A rolling mill comprising a pair of opposed cooperating rolls for engaging the two opposite sides of and reducing a workpiece passed therebetween;

housings in which said rolls are journalled;

said housings being provided with longitudinally extending openings through which said rolls may be passed into and out of said housings to facilitate the mounting and removal of said rolls;

means pivotally mounting said housings for pivotal movement toward or away from each other;

means for driving said rolls; and

means for moving said housings about their pivotal axes toward and away from each other;

said last-mentioned means including frames located outwardly of said housings;

force-applying mechanism connected to said frames and housings and operable to swing the housings toward or away from each other; and

tension members interconnecting said frames and extending transversely across said housings in nonobstructing relation to the opening provided in said housings.

5. A rolling mill according to claim 4 wherein a forceapplying mechanism is provided in each frame and housing and includes a slidable block carried by said frame;

a screw rotatably received in said block and engageable with said housing;

means for rotating said screw to pivotally move said housing;

a cam and follower assembly having an eccentricity substantially equal to the angular displacement of 9 It) said roll of said housing connected to said block screw will be maintained at a predetermined position and frame for moving the block relative to the frame relative to said housing. in a directiloln substantfially at right angles to the di- References Cited in the file of this patent rection of t e travel 0 said screw; and means for driving said cam and follower assembly in 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS a manner to synchronize the speed of the assembly 699,814 Richards y 1902 with the speed of the screw, whereby the axis of the 1,337,650 Koelkebeck 16, 1921 

1. A ROLLING MILL COMPRISING, A PAIR OF COOPERATING ROLLS FOR ENGAGING THE TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF AND REDUCING A WORKPIECE PASSED THEREBETWEEN; SEPARATE HOUSINGS FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING EACH ROLL; CARRIER MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID HOUSINGS; PIVOTAL MEANS FOR CONNECTING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID HOUSINGS TO SAID CARRIER MEANS; MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID ROLLS; AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING ABOUT SAID PIVOTAL MEANS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE OTHER HOUSING; SAID LAST-MENTIONED MEANS COMPRISING A FRAME FOR SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING HAVING A LONGITUDINAL OPENING; A RECIPROCABLE RAM RECEIVED IN SAID OPENING EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY IN A DIRECTION AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING; A CROSSHEAD HAVING A CIRCULAR RECESS AT ONE SIDE THEREOF AND MOUNTED ON THE ONE END OF SAID RAM AND MOVABLE SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES RELATIVE TO SAID RAM; SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING HAVING A COMPLEMENTARY CIRCULAR PROJECTION WHICH IS RECEIVED IN SAID RECESS OF THE CROSSHEAD SO THAT ON THE ANGULAR MOVEMENT OF SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL MEANS SAID CROSSHEAD WILL BE CAUSED TO MOVE RELATIVE TO SAID RAM; THE MOUNTING PORTION OF SAID RAM BEING CONSTRUCTED SO THAT A PORTION OF SAID CROSSHEAD IS ALWAYS MAINTAINED NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE ROLL OF SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING; AND AN ADJUSTING SCREW MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME AND CONNECTED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID RAM FOR RECIPROCATING SAID RAM THEREBY TO PIVOTALLY MOVE SAID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED HOUSING. 